McDonald's Oak Brook headquarters swarmed with wage protesters

Several thousand protesters gather at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook on May 20, 2015, where they rallied for hourly wages to be increased to $15 an hour. (Antonio Perez & Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune)

Several thousand protesters gather at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook on May 20, 2015, where they rallied for hourly wages to be increased to $15 an hour. (Antonio Perez & Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune)

Protesters hailing from as far away as Kansas City and New York City participated in a demonstration at McDonald'sOak Brook headquarters Wednesday, urging that hourly wages for the burger giant's front-line workers be increased to $15 an hour.

Darrell Miller, 35, who said he left Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday night on a bus filled with other protesters, said he decided to join in because it was his dream to march like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and fight for freedom. His job at McDonald's, he said, gives him no control over his life or his independence because the $7.75 an hour he is paid barely covers his bills.

Protesters, who had gathered about a half a mile west of the headquarters, slowly marched toward McDonald's campus shortly after noon. At the head of the long line of protesters several held aloft a banner: "McDonald's $15 and union rights, not food stamps. #fightfor15."

The protesters chanted, "People united will never be defeated.''

The Oak Brook police estimated the crowd at about 2,000 people. Organizers had projected that upward of 5,000 would participate in the demonstration.

A steady drumming at times muffled the chanting. Protesters moved so slowly that police got off their bicycles and were trailing along on foot.

Before demonstrations began, Heidi Barker, a McDonald's spokeswoman, said the company does not have the power to raise wages of workers employed by its franchisees. She said it's possible that franchisees will follow the company's lead and also raise wages of front-line workers.

McDonald's will increase starting wages to $1 above the local minimum at 1,500 company-owned restaurants effective July 1. While that increase affects more than 90,000 employees, those restaurants account for about one-tenth of McDonald's restaurants across the country. Franchisees, which operate the majority of U.S. restaurants, make their own decisions on pay and benefits. Overall, about 750,000 employees work at company- and franchisee-owned McDonald's restaurants in the U.S.

Oak Brook Police Chief James Kruger said he was pleased with how things went May 20 and 21 when an estimated 2,000 people from around the country came to Oak Brook to demonstrate and march for a $15 an hour minimum wage and rights to form unions at fast-food restaurants.

The Service Employees International...

Oak Brook Police Chief James Kruger said he was pleased with how things went May 20 and 21 when an estimated 2,000 people from around the country came to Oak Brook to demonstrate and march for a $15 an hour minimum wage and rights to form unions at fast-food restaurants.

The Service Employees International...

(Chuck Fieldman)

Adriana Alvarez said that since joining the Fight for $15 campaign last year, her hourly wages at a McDonald's on Cicero Avenue jumped by $1.75 an hour, reaching $10.50 an hour. But the single mother of a 3-year-old boy said her costs also continue to go up and state budget cuts affected a child care subsidy she receives.

Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, called on McDonald's to sit with a union at a national bargaining table and put some of its profits into the pockets of workers.

"Even when we get $15 and a union we will keep fighting," Henry said.

In an interview, Henry said SEIU won't necessarily represent fast food workers. She said workers will decide who will represent them when McDonald's agrees to negotiate wages and benefits.

"It doesn't matter to us who the members become. What matters to us is that these workers win a union," Henry said.

The Rev. William Barber II, pastor of the Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, N.C., said the campaign extends beyond pushing for a living wage. This is a racial fight too, he said, explaining that people of color are disproportionally working in low wage jobs. He said that's why the NAACP is supporting the Fight for 15.

Some of the profits made at McDonald's restaurants, Barber said, should go back to workers who are relying on public assistance. "We have a right to raise up and fight for $15.''

Wednesday's protest, which was expected to be the largest organized by the SEIU's Fight for $15 campaign, comes a day before the company's annual shareholder meeting. A smaller protest is expected Thursday morning. Police plan to close several roads both days for safety. The company asked some corporate employees to stay home during the protests.

McDonald's has been under consistent pressure to improve performance. Thursday's meeting is the first under CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took the helm March 1. Easterbrook's goal is to turn McDonald's into a "modern, progressive burger company."

In addition to boosting pay at company-owned stores, McDonald's has vowed to increase education benefits across all U.S. restaurants but activists say the moves don't go far enough. Fight for $15 is demanding raises across the chain.

McDonald's also finds itself battling complaints of labor law violations filed in state and federal courts and with federal agencies. SEIU alleges McDonald's shares responsibility for employees with franchisees as a joint-employer.

The National Labor Relations Board's general counsel agreed with the union, charging McDonald's as a joint-employer in 19 complaints outlining 101 labor law violations, including allegations that the company reduced the hours of workers who have participated in protests against the company.

Hearings on those complaints have been delayed until October.

On Monday, the SEIU asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how the franchise industry sets the terms of its business models. The SEIU argues that McDonald's has built low wages into the franchise system, limiting franchisees' ability to increase worker wages.

McDonald's maintains franchisees are independent owner-operators setting their own policies and wages while adhering to corporate standards on food preparation and restaurant design.

The movement's push to increase wages has led to victories in various cities, including Chicago, which is raising its hourly minimum wage from $8.25 to $10 on July 1 and to $13 by mid-2019. On Tuesday, Los Angeles voted to increase its $9 per hour minimum wage up to $15 by 2020.

Last year, about 500 workers and community activists staged peaceful protests at McDonald's annual meeting. On the first day, 138 people were arrested, including 101 workers, for trespassing.

Though McDonald's is the campaign's main target, Fight for $15 has evolved into a movement on behalf of low-wage workers ranging from airport workers to adjunct professors. Workers from some of those industries as well as sympathetic advocacy groups and clergy also attended in Oak Brook.